1. The Lord says, "People of Benjamin, run for safety! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow trumpets in Tekoa! Warn everyone in Beth Hakkerem! Horrible trouble is coming from the north. The Babylonians will destroy everything with awful power.
2. I will destroy the city of Zion, even though it is very beautiful.
3. Shepherds will come against it with their flocks. They will set up their tents around it. All of them will take care of their own sheep."
4. The Babylonians say, "Prepare for battle against Judah! Get up! Let's attack them at noon! But the daylight is fading. The shadows of evening are getting longer.
5. So get up! Let's attack them at night! Let's destroy their strongest forts!"
6. The Lord who rules over all speaks to the Babylonians. He says, "Cut some trees down. Use the wood to build ramps against Jerusalem's walls. I must punish that city. It is filled with people who treat others badly.
7. Wells keep giving fresh water. And Jerusalem keeps on sinning. Its people are always fighting and causing trouble. When I look at them, I see nothing but sickness and wounds.
8. Jerusalem , listen to my warning. If you do not, I will turn away from you. Your land will become a desert. No one will be able to live there."
9. The Lord rules over all. He says to me, "People gather the few grapes that are left on a vine. So let Israel's enemies gather the few people who are left alive in the land. Look carefully at the branches again. Do it like someone who gathers the last few grapes."
10. Who can I speak to? Who can I warn? Who will even listen to me? Their ears are closed so they can't hear. The Lord's message displeases them. They don't take any delight in it.
11. But the Lord's anger burns inside me. I can no longer hold it in. The Lord says to me, "Pour out my anger on the children in the street. Pour it out on the young people who are gathered together. Husband and wife alike will be caught in it. So will those who are very old.
12. I will reach out my hand against those who live in the land," announces the Lord. "Then their houses will be turned over to others. So will their fields and their wives.
13. Everyone wants to get richer and richer, from the least important of them to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone they can.
14. They bandage the wounds of my people as if they were not very deep. 'Peace, peace,' they say. But there isn't any peace.